There will be an all-school groundbreaking ceremony, but before that there will be a video on Facebook and tours for the student council & PAC. There will probably also be a community forum and parent survey to make sure everyone’s voice is heard. Several parents and students will also be on the facility planning committee.

It’s much more efficient for K-12 to share the athletic field, gym, sports field, cafeteria, library, music and language teachers, busing programs, and Principal. Locating all the grades on one campus promotes a family atmosphere (older students helping younger students) and transportation for families with children in several grades.

Quality high school programs require lots of space for athletics and arts. The existing gym and outdoor space is already used to capacity. Sharing facilities and personnel between two small campuses is very inefficient. Also, facilities rental in this area is very expensive.

More than 10 years ago, the Board asked the Superintendent to search for leasable property in the greater Taipei area that is at least 6000 ping and accessible by public transportation. During this long period of time we have researched many properties. AIT, AmCham and even the President Office sent letters in our behalf to the Taipei city government. Unfortunately, every one of these overtures ended up with the red tapes in different government offices. Taipei City Mayor Hau is supportive of Bethany staying in Taipei City, but in October 2013 he told us clearly that it’s impossible for Taipei City to close down any public school for a foreign school.

It normally takes within 30 minutes to drive from Bethany to the Linko property. The school would arrange for school bus between Roosevelt Road and Linko. This Linko property is close to the Airport MRT line.

The Taipei high school program would have distinctives similar to the new high school in Kaohsiung. The Kaohsiung Campus will celebrate their first graduating class in 2016. Refer to the online comparison of Taichung and Kaohsiung courses, athletics, performing groups, student life, and scholastic competitions. http://www.mca.org.tw/academics/high-school/overview/